Divine Brownies!

Missy Tippens

Last week, I hosted my book club at my house. It's a new book club, formed with ladies from several nearby neighborhoods. This was only our second meeting, so it's been fun to get to know everyone. None of us knew each other before we joined together!

We decided to meet monthly at 7 and serve only dessert. Which I love, because I love to make them!

This time, I decided to make these wonderful brownies. My friend Cheryl is famous in our church for her amazing, decadent brownies. If she knew I was sharing this recipe, she might have to kill me! ;) I won't give away all her secrets. I'll just share the basics.

Start with a fudgey brownie mix that has chocolate chips in it. Make it according to boxed directions. I used a Ghiardelli mix that had chocolate chips and a packet of fudge sauce in it.

Spread half the batter in a brownie pan. I used a 7x11, but Cheryl usually uses an 8x8 (and bakes for about 45 minutes).

Top with Hershey milk chocolate bars. My pan took about 5 bars. I did finish covering it. Just wanted to take a photo to show the mix underneath.

Then top with the rest of the batter. I had a hard time making it totally cover the bars in this pan. It almost wasn't enough batter.

I baked for 30 minutes at 350 degrees and they turned out perfectly in my pan except for some dried up corners. I've heard rumors that some people actually like the hard corners! I'm a center-of-the-pan gal myself. :) Sooo good!!

And the ladies loved them.

P.S. I know last week I mentioned being back on Weight Watchers. So you may be wondering about that. LOL Yes, I saved enough points to have one brownie!

www.missytippens.com

Book Club Foodies

I love being a part of a book club where we actually discuss the book we read.  We may go on tangents but we read everything from non-fiction history to literary fiction to YA. We love diverse characters and stories that make us think.  

Love these women.

We are not a wine and cheese book club or a no-food book club.  Thanks to various food challenges, we have become a gourmet healthy eating book club.

Fresh fruit, grain or legume-based salads, seasonal veggies, excellent dips, and peanuts in the shell. Yes, peanuts. We are now addicted. My friends make sure there is something wheat and corn free that I can enjoy. Another reason to love these gals.

One of my new favorite salads is from my friend Cathy. We've known each other over three decades. Pre-children! Pre-life changes! It's great to have long time friends. Her quinoa and black bean salad is the bomb. But I still tweaked it a bit since the original calls for sugar and butter. Trying to minimize those in our diet.

Black Bean and Quinoa Salad

2 tsp. grated lime zest
2 T. fresh lime juice
2 T. olive oil
1 tsp. honey
1 cup quinoa
1 (14- to 15-oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 med. tomatoes, diced
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter oil, sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper in a large bowl.
Wash quinoa in cold water,drain in a sieve. Cook quinoa according to package directions.
Add quinoa to dressing and toss until dressing is absorbed, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.
Makes 4 (side dish) servings.

What about you? Are you in a book club? Do you read a lot of different books or focus on one genre? Do you bring the same dish every time or mix things up?